Comic Con May 2015

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dancook

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Dan
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Haven't finished processing photos, but here's a few. All photos taken in the bustling giant hall of comic con.

I'm really gutted - some of my favourite photos are spoilt by not being focussed properly. I shall take extra care next time that the green AF box appears. Problem comes from trying to manage so many things at once..

The Joker by dancook1982, on Flickr

Rainbow Dragon by dancook1982, on Flickr

Mini Captain America by dancook1982, on Flickr

X-Men by dancook1982, on Flickr
 
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Great shots, i especially like Captain America, had i not been stuck at work i would have been there, next time .
 
I was going to ask about the lighting, i can see how you missed focus on some if you were hand holding a beauty dish. But well done for trying and well worth the results.

I love all these you've posted up, lighting is superb and look they were shot in a studio. Focus and exposure is spot on :)
By how much did you miss focus on the others? nothing salvagable?
 
doublemint76 said:
I was going to ask about the lighting, i can see how you missed focus on some if you were hand holding a beauty dish. But well done for trying and well worth the results.

I love all these you've posted up, lighting is superb and look they were shot in a studio. Focus and exposure is spot on :)
By how much did you miss focus on the others? nothing salvagable?
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A couple I might salvage - here's a few which give example to the worst offenders.

View attachment 38110 View attachment 38111 View attachment 38112 View attachment 38113 View attachment 38114
 
Whilst these are just missed focus, I think some were due to the 1/160th shutter speed and the instability of holding a camera with one hand. I think I will consider a solution next time that I can go above 1/160th

I was shooting f11, 1/160th, ISO 160
 
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I take it the 1/160th shutter speed was forced on you by the sync speed of the flash, would HSS flash be an answer?
 
huffy said:
I take it the 1/160th shutter speed was forced on you by the sync speed of the flash, would HSS flash be an answer?
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I was using Canon speedlights with a Yongnuo transmitter on a Sony body - it was forced and HSS won't work in this config.
 
dancook said:
I hand held a 22inch beauty dish all day :D got Louise in on some rim lighting at one point - but it was a bit hit and miss.
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Can I ask, were you one of the photographers positioned in the alcoves in the halls? and were you there in an official capacity or did you just turn up and set up in there.

We spent Saturday wandering the halls and just grabbing shots but would of been nice to have got some more formal shots.

Thanks

Geo
 
londonbackpackr said:
Can I ask, were you one of the photographers positioned in the alcoves in the halls? and were you there in an official capacity or did you just turn up and set up in there.

We spent Saturday wandering the halls and just grabbing shots but would of been nice to have got some more formal shots.

Thanks

Geo
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I didn't setup anywhere - I wandered the halls grabbing shots too :) - mostly in and around all the stands.

Not official either.

As you can see :D in the halls.

View attachment 38126
 
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Fab set dan - was well worth all the effort you went to, much much better than my attempt - I never thought of attempting such a closed aperture to get rid of the busy background you get at a con - :clap:
 
A superb set, captain America is my favourite, can wait until the Blackpool event later in the year.
 
db247 said:
Great shots, could as well have been in a studio but you didn't need that :D
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I did get Louise started on some rim lighting - but it was hit and miss, was a nice idea though :D

captain america has some rim lighting
 
dancook said:
Whilst these are just missed focus, I think some were due to the 1/160th shutter speed and the instability of holding a camera with one hand. I think I will consider a solution next time that I can go above 1/160th

I was shooting f11, 1/160th, ISO 160
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Have you tried the camera shake reduction tool in photoshop? It's far from foolproof but it can work wonders at times. I've had it save several shots where dragging the shutter has caused a bit much blur on the main subject.

cracking shots by the way
 
Lovely shots :) The last two are excellent.

Were you just holding the bd or was it mounted to something?

It's nice to see how someone else deals with the lighting for this sort of thing.
 
cowboy said:
Lovely shots :) The last two are excellent.

Were you just holding the bd or was it mounted to something?

It's nice to see how someone else deals with the lighting for this sort of thing.
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I started off with it on a monopod, but the screw wasn't strong enough to keep it from rotating round - also it wasn't very versatile and got in the way.

I found hand holding it much more practical by comparison :)

View attachment 38162
 
This is also the reason I chose 35mm - because it meant I could get portraits at a close enough distance to control the lighting!
 
FOUND IT! When I saw you're shooting details it reminded me of this video. You may have seen it, it may not be of interest, it may be more awkward than what you already did. I hate when you know you've seen something and can't find it though. So anyway an idea for shooting solo with a beauty dish.
 
CraigDHD said:
FOUND IT! When I saw you're shooting details it reminded me of this video. You may have seen it, it may not be of interest, it may be more awkward than what you already did. I hate when you know you've seen something and can't find it though. So anyway an idea for shooting solo with a beauty dish.
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I saw a guy at Comic Con with something similar a light modifier sticking out the top of his backpack - I like the output from the video - I will have to try my BD in an overhead central position to see how i like it.
 
Some very nice results.
If I were going to do this I would consider using a monopod for the camera with an articulated extension arm (~3ft) attached to hold the lighting (probably my AD360). I have done similar using a 24" softbox. I used an impact 3 section arm superclamped to the monopod near the top, and a ballhead on the monopod for the camera. The arm is a bit of a PITA to adjust once it's set so the lighting becomes a bit formulaic, but for these headshots it would work well.
BTW, the AD360 is about 5x a speedlight at about the same weight (battery pack on belt or strap). And it can do HSS if the FT-1 transmitter is piggybacked on top of the yongnuo transmitter (or any other TTL transmitter). Although I would probably pair it with a variable ND rather than use HSS. (The AD360 is not TTL capable)

TBH, I can't see any reason for 160th sync to have caused an issue. If you had dropped the ambient as much as it seems, then your effective SS would have been ~ 1/250 (T 0.1 flash duration), and probably even faster (if at a reduced power setting). You would have to have been VERY shaky at 35mm.
 
These are fab and am sure the blur was due to juggling all the gear.
Great job for sure.

Gaz
 
juggler said:
Really nice work. What sort of beauty dish & deflector were you using with the speedlite? In my one test I found that I didn't get terribly good results using a speedlite in a dish.
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Thanks

This was my originally planned setup

View attachment 38291

But then I swapped out the 55mm 1.8 for a 35mm 1.4 so I could get closer for better control of the light, and instead of the softbox - I hand held a Kacey 22inch Beauty Dish powered with ONE speedlight not two

View attachment 38290

online product shot from behind

View attachment 38289
 
juggler said:
Thanks! I suspect the sock & stofen made all the difference.
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Not a stofen, it was a gel holder. I just like the warmth it adds to OOC shots - even though I'm not balancing it with anything.

The sock makes the highlights in the eyes whole, otherwise i get a double ring. Maybe there is a reason for this like, like needing more power for the beauty dish.
 
Dan - you have done a great job on these.....I know how you feel regarding nailing pin sharp in every shot......The subject matter also benefits greatly by nailing it IYSWIM...

None the less though some nice images! and well done to the subjects, some fantastic makeup and costumes and props! The Joker is ACE!!
 
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